Food Fortification: The Advantages, Disadvantages and Lessons from Sight and Life Programs

Abstract

Deficiencies in one or more micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A are widespread in low- and middle-income countries and compromise the physical and cognitive capacity of millions of people. Food fortification is a cost-effective strategy with demonstrated health, economic and social benefits. Despite ongoing debates globally and in some countries regarding the performance and safety of food fortification, the practice offers significant benefits across each of the main vehicles for food fortification (large-scale food fortification, biofortification and point-of-use or home fortification) ranging from reducing the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies and economic benefits to societies and economies. Using Sight and Life’s global and national experiences in implementing food fortification efforts, we demonstrate how different programs in LMICs have successfully addressed challenges with food fortification and in doing so, find that these efforts are most successful when partnerships are formed that include the public and private sector as well as other parties that can provide support in key areas such as advocacy, management, capacity building, implementation and regulatory monitoring.

Influence of Iron Addition (Alone or with Calcium) to Elements Biofortification and Antioxidants in Pholiota nameko

“…A potentially nutrient improving intake strategy for enriching our diet with specific elements is food fortification [5]. Methods that offer meaningful solutions include classical, Plants 2021, 10, 2275 2 of 17 industrial, large-scale fortification and enhancement through genetic engineering [4,6].…”

Enablers and Barriers of Zinc Fortification; Experience from 10 Low- and Middle-Income Countries with Mandatory Large-Scale Food Fortification

“…LSFF is increasingly recognized as a cost-effective approach to improve population micronutrient status and related health outcomes [6,7,19]. This study identified factors that inhibited countries with evidence of an elevated potential risk of zinc deficiency from introducing zinc as a fortificant, as well as factors that facilitated countries to include zinc in their fortification program.…”

Perspective: Practical Approach to Preventing Subclinical B12 Deficiency in Elderly Population

“…The experience of fortification has been successfully conducted for zinc, iron, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B complexes (e.g., folate, niacin, thiamine), vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E [72] enrichment of foods. It is now well accepted that micronutrient fortification of foods has the potential to significantly increase serum micronutrient concentrations, reduce the incidence of micronutrient deficiencies in public health (e.g., Pellagra, Beriberi, childhood rickets, xerophthalmia), reduce clinical manifestations of deficiencies (including goiter, anemia and neural tube defects), and improve overall nutritional status [73,74].…”